Parker not Romo, and not himself yet

San Antonio Spurs' Tony Parker is fouled by Dallas Mavericks' Jose Calderon during the second half of game three in the first round of the Western Conference Playoffs at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Saturday, April 26, 2014. The Mavericks won 109-108 to lead the series 2-1.

San Antonio Spurs' Tony Parker is fouled by Dallas Mavericks' Jose...

DALLAS — Among quarterbacks named Tony who wear No. 9, Parker was the best in the building.

The only other one in attendance Monday, after all, was named Romo.

But as the Spurs go forward — and now go home in a tie series — Parker has to be better. And maybe what he did in the final possessions of Game 4 will get him there.

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Take 25 shots, as Gregg Popovich suggested earlier in the series? Or take what Rick Carlisle seemingly wants him to take?

About this time a year ago, it seemed all questions had been answered. Then, the last time the Spurs won a playoff series, Parker was at the zenith.

He scored 37 points to finish the sweep of Memphis, meshing his scoring talent with a sense of how to run the team.

“I'm riding his coattails,” Tim Duncan said then, when it was always the opposite, and something else Duncan said was significant, too.

“Every year he gets better and better and better,” Duncan said of his teammate.

That is true. And when Parker went from Memphis to making the game-securing shot against Miami in the first game of the Finals, his career arc was complete. After the years of doubt, he had finally filled in the cracks.

But a hamstring pull stopped him from completing the Finals as he wanted, and after that came a brutal schedule in Eurobasket. He led France to the title, beating Jose Calderon and rival Spain in the process, and along the way, his leadership came through.

He's never fully recovered from the beating, however, no matter how Popovich tried to rest him. Parker has played in flashes this season, reflective of another All-Star selection, but he's never been the consistent force he was a year ago.

This series has taken that to another level, and Monday showed that again. Patty Mills again replaced Parker for key stretches. And once, when Mills and Parker went for the same rebound, they crashed into each other.

Telling of who they are now, Mills got up and zipped down the court. Parker fell in pain.

Romo meanwhile spent the evening yelling at refs and rooting for the home team. Watching the Spurs, he might have wondered why he hasn't had the support that Parker had. Manu Ginobili and Boris Diaw picked up Parker as too few Cowboys ever have Romo.

And maybe, watching this game, Romo wondered why he doesn't have DeJuan Blair blocking for him.

Blair was seemingly getting his revenge against his former team, helping the Mavericks come back from a 20-point deficit. But as the Spurs began to fade again, seemingly on the cusp of another collapse, a head-scratcher turned into a head-kicker.

Blair never showed this as a Spur, but it fits with the package: His foolish kick to Tiago Splitter's head with about three minutes left changed the game.

But the Spurs led by only a point, and the crowd still felt the Saturday magic of Vince Carter.

After two Ginobili misses, and with the Spurs struggling to score, Parker dribbled right and calmly made his first shot in 20 minutes.

A year ago, it was common stuff. Now it's a sign he's still alive.

A few seconds later, after Dallas had tied the game, Parker seemed in control. He penetrated and found Diaw for a 3-pointer.